Vehicle-wheel.



W. W. GILLESPIE.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED sEPTJ. 1915.

Patented July 17, 1917.

VEHICLE-WHEEL.

, magenta.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1?, I917.

Application filed September 7, 1915. Serial N 0. 49,177.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. GILLEs- PIE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, county. of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in resilient wheel hubs. Y

The object of my invention is to provide a vehicle wheel with a resilient hub, in which the tension will be exerted not only along radial lines, but also along tangential lines, whereby shocks will be largely absorbed by compressing a set of springs or cushioning devices tangentially, and transmission of such shocks to the vehicle axle may be largely avoided.

In the drawing,-

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in sec-- tion, showing a resilient hub embodying my invention, and also showing fragments of the spokes.

Fig. 2 is a front View of the same'with a portion broken away to expose the outer surface of one of the floating cushioned members.

Fig. 3 is a detail edge view of one of the floating members. I

Like parts are identifiedby the same reference characters throughout the several views.

The wheel hub is formed with a rim A and a central member B, provided with an aperture C to receive the axle. Disks D are employed, one of which is secured to each side of the rim A, as shown. The spokes E are secured to the rim A. The member B is provided with a series of radially projecting plunger arms B. These arms are socketed in floating members F, the outer ends of which comprise segments F, and the inner ends of which are preferably rectangular in cross-section. Springs G are seated in the floating member sockets, and the plunger arms B seat against these springs, the latter serving as cushions whereby the floating members F are pushed outwardly in the direction of the rim A. Balls H are preferably interposed between the floating members and the rim A, these balls being loosely socketed in the floating members.

Between the floating members F, the rim A is provided with inwardly projecting members I. The outer portions of these members have front and rear edge surfaces I which are parallel with the tapering surfaces 7 of the segments F. The inner ends of the members I have their side edges (front and rear) tapering in the opposite direction, thereby forming a wedge J, the edge walls of which converge inwardly and are parallel with the front and rear surfaces of the floating members F. The members J are provided with sockets in which plungers K are mounted and cushioned upon springs L seated in the sockets, and the.

outer ends of the plungers are provided with balls M socketed therein, and adapted to bear against the floating members F. The plungers K are forced inwardly into the sockets by the wedging pressure of the plungers B when the latter move into the sockets of the floating members F. Owing to the fact that the plungers B diverge radially, it is obvious that a relative movement of the members B toward-the rim A in any direction will cause two or more of the plungers B to move into their correspondlng sockets in the floating members F, and will thereby tend to press such floating members together or toward each other. This will cause such floating members to approach the front and rear walls of the Wedge J which is interposed betweenthem, and this movement of approach will be resisted by the springs L, against which the plungers K will be pushed. I

In the construction illustrated, I employ six plungers B, and the springs L, and the spring receiving sockets in the wedges J, are of such length that it would be diflicult to provide resilient cushions of this kind on both sides of each wedge J. I, therefore, employ a different kind of spring cushion upon one side of each wedge J, and for this purpose I preferably employ a flat strip of resilient metal, suitably bent to form a connecting member N and a cushioning member O, the connecting member being secured to the wedge J at P, and the strip of metal of which it is composed being bent or folded upon itself at P to provide the bowed spring arm 0, which is adapted to bear against the surface of the next succeeding floating member F.

The edge of each floating member F toward which the wheel normally rotates is, for convenience in description, termed the front side, and the opposite side is correspondingly termed the rear side or edge. The side which under normal conditions receives the greatest pressure is preferably provided with a plunger K, cushioned upon the coiled spring L. In a traction wheel, the driving power being applied from the center through the plungers B, it is obvious that the greatest pressure will be in the direction in which the member B is rotated by the engine, but in a wheel which runs idle, the greatest pressure will be exerted in the opposite direction, the'power to rotate the wheel being applied to'the rim. My invention contemplates, however, the use of any form of resilient cushion in connection with the wedge J, which is adapted to permit any two of the floating members F to converge against resilient pressure.

In operation, any relative movement of the rim. A with'reference to thehub proper :(the member '13), will, of course, compress two .or more of the springs G with a .correspending movement of the plunger-s13 into distributed, the tangential pressure the sockets of the respective floating members F. The reaction of the springs G will tend to impart vibratory movement to the vehicle body, but, in addition to this movement by which the shock of compression is exerted uponithe cushioning member L or O, or both, will also tend to absorb the shock, and the reaction thereof will be more thoroughly absorbed with verylittle tendency to prod-uce up and down vibratory movements of the body of the vehicle. The duty imposed upon the springs G; L, and 0, may, of course, be regulated in correspondence to the resistance of the respective springs, with a view to securing maximum absorption of shock combined with maximum smoothness of operation, or of freedom of movement.

' ltwill be observed that the balls M are inserted in the respective sockets from the rear'side, and are prevented from falling out by having the sockets partially closed at the front, screw-threaded plugs 71, being employed at the rear. It will also be observed that the members I, J, are not only supported from the rim A, but are also connected with the disks D by bolts or rivets (Z. The balls I-I facilitate the relative movements of the floating members F along the rim A. The balls M facilitate the movements of the plungers K and the relative radial movements of the floating members F.

I claim- In a resilient hub for vehicle wheels the combination with inner and outer concentric members of a set of plungers radially secured to the inner member, socketed bearing members telescoped upon said plungers in extension thereof and having anti-frictional arcuate bearing relation with the outer concentric member, springs supporting the plungers from the bottom of the sockets, and means for resiliently opposing rotative motion of the outer concentric member relative to said bearing members, said means comprising stop members carried by the outer concentric member between each pair of bearing members, a socket in each stop member disposed at right angles to one adjacent bearing member, a spring in said socket, and a cap sliding in said socket and resiliently pressed by said spring into anti-frictional contact with the bearing member, each of said stop members carrying a flat spring in direct contact with the other adjacent bearing member.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

, WILLIAM W. GILLESPIE.

Qepieg of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

